Saturday, September 22, 2012

Energy Psychology in the Professional Literature

For Energy Medicine and Energy Psychology to be taken seriously
by health
professionals and mental health professionals, articles that describe energy
healing
and its research support, clinical applications, or "mechanisms of action" have to be available in the professional
literature. David "tithes" some of his time each month to
writing papers for these generally unglamorous publications. Over
the next several months, four new papers he has been working on for the
past two years—which address these three areas—are finally
coming
to completion and being published.

The topics of the papers include 1) a review of the research
addressing
the question of whether Energy Psychology works, 2) the role of
"energy" in Energy Psychology treatments, 3) the evidence for
surrogate (at-a-distance) tapping, and 4) a close look at why
Energy
Psychology is so effective in treating PTSD. The first surveys
51
peer-reviewed papers describing outcomes of Energy Psychology
treatments
and just became available in the "Online First" area of
Review of General Psychology, a flagship publication of
the
American Psychological Association. It stands to be a key in
shifting the way psychologists view Energy Psychology.

Emacs!

Psychologists pay attention to research findings, and every one
of the
studies reviewed in
the
paper reported positive outcomes! Conditions helped
included PTSD, phobias, specific anxieties, generalized anxiety,
depression, weight control, physical pain, physical illness, and
athletic
performance. Eighteen randomized controlled trials (the gold
standard in
clinical research) were identified and critically evaluated for
design
quality. The report concludes: "These studies have
consistently demonstrated strong effect sizes and other positive
statistical results that far exceed chance after relatively few
treatment
sessions." The papers were authored or co-authored by more
than 100 separate investigators, with similar findings having
come from more than a dozen countries.

Even though this study—and the substantial body of evidence it
presents—is appearing in a prestigious APA journal, the struggle for
credibility
is not over. The APA's 1999 policy still stands: APA partners
who provide professional continuing education can
lose their CE sponsorship status
by offering credit to psychologists for taking an Energy Psychology
course! In short, one side of the APA's brain isn't
coordinating
with the other. Unfortunately, the losers are the many
suffering
with PTSD and other painful and disabling conditions who turn to
psychologists and mental health agencies that have not looked
into Energy Psychology because of the APA's far-reaching influence. The new
study, however, means that those of us who are working with the
APA, and
encouraging it to change its position, have firmer ground to
stand on.